History
Roland Bainton Here I Stand (Lion/NAL). The best and liveliest biography of Martin Luther, one of the undisputed titans of European history. Geoffrey Barraclough Origins of Modern Germany (Blackwell/Norton). The most easily digestible general introduction to the country's history, tackling the medieval period better than any more specialized book. Volker Berghahn Germany and the Approach of War in 1914 (Macmillan/St Martin's Press). An instructive general picture of Germany before World War I. It chronicles the political, economic and social pressures, and succeeds in giving plausible explanations for the apparently inevitable. Owen Chadwick The Reformation (Penguin). Traces the German origins of the biggest-ever rupture in the fabric of the Church, and follows their impact on the rest of Europe. Einhard and Notker the Stammerer Two Lives of Charlemagne (Penguin). Einhard was a leading courtier in the service of the founder of the Holy Roman Empire, and provided a beautifully written, all-too-short biography of his master. Written a century later, Notker's book is a series of monkish anecdotes, many no doubt apocryphal, which help flesh out the overall portrait of Charlemagne. Mary Fulbrook A Concise History of Germany (Cambridge UP). "Concise" is the key word for this post-unification history, whose brevity is simultaneously its strength and its weakness. Sebastian Haffner The Rise and Fall of Prussia (Phoenix). A short study of the legend behind the remarkable state which forged German unity in 1871, yet vanished from the map in 1947. Friedrich Heer The Holy Roman Empire (Phoenix). Comprehensive account of the thousand-year history of the First German Reich. Golo Mann The History of Germany Since 1787 (Pimlico). Written by the son of Thomas Mann, this comprehensive study traces not only the politics but also the intellectual and cultural currents of the period. Nancy Mitford Frederick the Great (Penguin). Lively biography of the man who brought Prussia to the forefront of German affairs, and to a place among the great powers of Europe. Detlev Pleukert The Weimar Republic (Penguin). Trenchant dissection of the endlessly fascinating but fundamentally flawed state - until recently the only experiment at a united and democratic German nation - which survived for just fourteen years. Alexandra Richie Faust's Metropolis (HarperCollins). The most detailed history of Berlin in English, with the emphasis placed firmly on the momentous events of the twentieth century. Tacitus The Germania (Penguin). Brilliant series of concise analyses of each of the war-like Germanic tribes, which are often compared favourably with the author's native Rome. Some of the observations about German character are startlingly prophetic. A.J.P. Taylor Bismarck: The Man and the Statesman (Penguin/Random House). Britain's most controversial historian here provides a typically stirring portrait of the ruthless schemer who forged (reluctantly, in the author's view) the nineteenth-century unification of Germany. Veronica (C.V.) Wedgwood The Thirty Years War (Methuen/Routledge). Easily the most accomplished book on the series of conflicts which devastated the country and divided the continent in the first half of the seventeenth century. Andrew Wheatcroft The Habsburgs (Penguin). Wide-ranging history of the extraordinary dynasty which not only dominated German affairs for several centuries, but controlled much of the rest of Europe as well.
funAshley says "Germany is full of wonderful sites to see!" howmary says "how much are ur food genal cost of meals cost over there" Explore Germany On Line (Video and Stills)David Mundstock says "My film “Septemberfest” presents all of Germany’s best known places: Frankfurt’s old town, a Rhine River cruise, Cologne’s Cathedral, the Hamburg red-light district, Berlin (The Wall, and other changes since 1990), lovely Dresden, Nuremberg, the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, Munich (glockenspiel, beer hall, and palaces), plus King Ludwig II’s most famous castle.
This is a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing. However, you need a high speed internet connection such as DSL or cable in order to view the film.
The still picture gallery of Germany can be viewed with any modem.
There are over 30 of my other amateur travel videos on-line covering all seven continents. Visit Italy, Morocco, Antarctica, Bali, Russia, China, Hawaii, Peru, Mayan Pyramids, American National Parks, Egypt, Greece, or Turkey, among many choices; see whales, penguins, or polar bears.
The planet is yours, including my Home Page giant galaxy of still pictures.
To watch a video or view stills, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer"
Your Tip for Germany
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Germany - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Germany - visit the main Germany forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Germany webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
